Last weekend, Mathilda Paatz competed for medals at the FIA Motorsport Games in France. The Cologne native represented Germany in the "Karting Sprint Junior" category and competed with 30 other talented youngsters from all over the world. With 13th place overall, she just missed out on the top ten, but the 14-year-old looks back on an exciting and eventful weekend. Paatz already received a great honour on Wednesday: she was allowed to open the international event together with ex-Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa.
The FIA Motorsport Games took place for the first time in 2019 and fell victim to the Corona pandemic in previous years, making this year's edition the second event. The event will be held in the style of the Olympic Games: Instead of the familiar trophies, medals in gold, silver and bronze are awarded. There was also a big opening ceremony where Mathilda Paatz took centre stage for a short time. Together with ex-Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa, the Cologne native spoke the "Olympic oath" of the FIA Motorsport Games.
Almost 500 racers from 72 nations competed in 16 disciplines - from karting and formula racing to GT and touring cars and e-sports. Mathilda Paatz had the honour of representing Germany in the "Karting Sprint Junior" category, where she met 30 opponents from all over the world. The individual motorsport federations selected the best athletes from their countries, so that the performance density within the competitions was particularly high. Paatz convinced with a good performance right from the start. The ADAC Nordrhein support driver established herself in the front midfield in the course of the training sessions.
All participants were ambitious: in qualifying, which decided the starting places for the heats, Paatz was pushed off the track twice by the competition. As a result, the 14-year-old did not manage a free, perfect lap, so that it was only enough for 12th place in the group and 24th overall. This was a bad starting position for the narrow track in Le Castellet, which hardly offers any opportunities for overtaking.
Paatz shows strong race to catch up
In order to ensure absolute equality of opportunity at the FIA Motorsport Games, all drivers started with uniform karts from the OK Junior class, which are provided and prepared by Kart Republic. Paatz put in a fighting performance in all the heats. In the first heat, the Cologne-based driver moved up to 13th place, while in the second heat she was only 23rd due to a spoiler penalty. In the third and final heat, Paatz finished in 16th place.
In the addition of all the heats, the ambassador of "Women in Motorsport" finished in 17th position, which was also her starting place for the important final race. There, the 14-year-old stayed out of any chaos, drove a clean race and was ultimately classified in 13th place overall. Paatz just missed out on the top ten, but in the tight field of 30 of the world's best racers, the result is satisfying.
I am grateful that I was able to represent Germany as part of the 'Motorsport Team Germany' at the FIA Motorsport Games.
Mathilda Paatz, Motorsport Team Germany
"I am grateful that I was able to represent Germany as part of 'Motorsport Team Germany' at the FIA Motorsport Games," says Mathilda Paatz after the exciting week in France. "Even though I wished for a better result, I was able to set some highlights and gain more experience. With the unfortunate qualifying, the outcome of which I didn't blame myself for, the chances for a top placement were already gone on Friday. Nevertheless, I tried to put in a strong performance to represent Germany in the best possible way. I succeeded in doing that.
More challenges ahead
At the closing ceremony on Sunday evening, the young talents of the German team, including Mathilda Paatz, were able to receive the NewStar Trophy of the FIA Motorsport Games 2022. In the disciplines of the young talents (Karting Endurance, Karting Sprint Junior, Karting Slalom, Auto Slalom, Cross Car Junior and Fanatec Esports), 'Motorsport Team Germany' showed the best overall performance of all participating countries.
Mathilda Paatz still has a few challenges to face in the coming weeks. First of all, the 14-year-old is fighting for a permanent place in the 'Motorsport Team Germany' in the selection process of the ADAC Sports Foundation, before she takes part in the WSK Final Cup (10 to 13 November) in Lonato, Italy. Afterwards, the Cologne native will look forward to the final of 'FIA Girls on Track - Rising Stars' (21 to 24 November). There, it will be decided whether the girl from Cologne will receive the coveted sponsorship in the Ferrari Driver Academy for the 2023 season.
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